Archive for the ‘Holiday’ Category

I had the pleasure of spending a couple weeks in Michigan babysitting my niece and nephews. Its always a little difficult cooking for kids - I want to still be adventurous and they don't like anything. I always take a slew of recipe options and my sister-in-law helps me choose the best options. My youngest nephew is the most picky but he loved a couple things that I made...and for some reason that feels more rewarding than all of the other 5 Stars!
Last time I babysat we did a special party fRead More....

With the success of my Valentines menu last year, I decided that I would do one again this year…but I had an event on the 14th so I hosted a day late (but lots of love still in the air). My guests included the expecting Sally and Tim, Steph Zundel, Marcus Bowers, Martin Rigby, Tami Barker and Jeff Barker.
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My roommate Amber Robinson and I both love fall and holidays and wanted to do a Halloween themed party…but we didn’t have time to do all of the work Test Nest style. I was looking through a booklet of Panini recipes and it hit me…lets do a Panini buffet…so the 1st Annual Panini BOOffet was born. Yep, it was that good and easy that it will become a yearly event. We had a great time, everyone brought an ingredient and we made Pumpkin Chili and Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake to go alonRead More....

If you love to cook, you can’t let any of the holidays pass you by – traditions, decorations, and friendships – what more can you ask for? This early Easter Test Nest was a treat of happy spring infused flavors like lemon and ginger and of course some seasonal influences of Asparagus and Leeks. I also wanted to challenge myself by making my first whole chicken (its pretty easy too, so not sure why I’ve been so reluctant to do it). My guests included Todd Stevens, Paul DoRead More....

Ask my mom and best friends and they’ll tell you my least favorite holiday is Valentine’s Day. Last year however, I caught a little bit of the love spirit with my two hearts and chocolate dinners. They were fun and I enjoyed thinking of creative ways to incorporate hearts. So I decided that with V-day on a Monday it would be a perfect opportunity for a fun celebration of good food, friends and love – it was a fabulous evening. This menu was a popular one so I increased the number and had 9Read More....

I went to Michigan for Christmas with my brother Bill’s family. I offered to cook Christmas Dinner so that Tammy wouldn’t have to and went over options with her so I’d make a great dinner that the kids would also enjoy. They invited the missionaries and a widow from their congregation to join us. I didn’t realize until I started making dinner that almost every dish had a little bit of sugar in it, oops, I rarely cook that way. It was all very yummy though so I guess the sugar overload waRead More....

I like to make treats every year for Christmas giveaways so I decided to really go all out this year and make quite a few different recipes, including the first time to make jam.
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Chocolate Truffles (3 Stars)

Added some orange flower water to give a little bit of flavor instead of liquor. These types of truffles are much easier to make than dipping truffleRead More....

The last TEST NEST dinner of 2010 didn’t fail to have interesting conversation, especially since Tim led everyone in a discussion about foreskin restoration and baby circumcision. Quite fitting for the holidays.I had 8 wonderful testers at this meal and we laughed the whole night away. My testers included Barbara and Nick, Sally and Tim, David Caine, Justin Benson, Kirsten Dekker and Pete Cerneka. I’ve had a lot of “firsts” this year and have quite enjoyed this fun experiment. I plan to Read More....

I decided to stay in NYC for Thanksgiving this year and host a big TEST NEST feast – I ended up having 14 testers. A friend who was leaving town let me use his apartment so I could comfortably fit two tables, serving tables and have access to an additional oven and fridge (not to mention that it was right across the street so easy to run back and forth between the two apartments). I wouldn’t have been able to do it without his place, so thanks David!
I eased a little of the stress by haviRead More....

Decorating and creating a Halloween themed menu made me even more excited for Halloween this year. I pulled in help from Mark Litchfield, Sally Atkinson, Mary Maroon and Angie Harding to decorate and make the prep for the dinner more manageable. It takes a lot of work to cut and clean out eight pumpkins, cut out bats, make witch hats and prepare all of the various items that were going into the pumpkin pot pies. They helped my stress level stay low and we enjoyed quality time with each other –Read More....